Last Patient of the Night

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What did you think of Last Patient of the Night? Did it make you want to continue reading the series? Why or why not?

2. What were your favorite and least favorite elements of the text?

3. Compare Last Patient of the Night to another entry in the AJ Docker series. What similarities and differences can you point out?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Doc sometimes feels conflicted about breaking rules to serve what he believes is a higher cause. Have you ever experienced a situation where you felt your moral duties conflicted with systematic restrictions or rules? How did you handle it?

2. Consider your own experiences in the healthcare system. What similarities or differences can you find between your lived experience and how Gerlacher depicts the medical field?

3. Doc lives a very routine life, from his ER shifts to his regular dinners at IHOP, all of which seem to help expand his social circle. Reflect on your own routines in life and how they’ve contributed to your social development.

4. Banshee plays an important role in Tom and Doc’s lives. Have you ever had a pet or another animal that played an important role in your own life?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. How does Doc as a character engage with issues surrounding the controversies over the cost of American healthcare?

2. How does Houston as a setting influence the development of the novel? How might the novel be different if it took place in a different city?

3. Doc is a frontline professional, and his role as an ER doctor strongly shapes his character. How does the way society treats frontline workers influence the character development of Doc and Carl, especially in the context of their friendship? In what ways is the novel accurate or inaccurate in its depiction of frontline workers?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Most of the novel is narrated in the first-person by Doc, but occasionally a chapter with third-person narration from the perspective of another character occurs. What is the effect of each narrative style in terms of characterization and/or plot development?

2. Choose a secondary character, like Carl or Little D. How are they characterized? What is their role and wider significance in the text?

3. How does Gerlacher’s conform to, or diverge from, some of the common tropes and techniques of the medical thriller genre?

4. Discuss the ER as a setting. How is it described? How does it impact the plot and/or character development?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. If this novel were adapted into an HBO show like The Pitt, who would you cast in the main roles, and who would you hire to write and direct it?

2. Doc listens to music throughout the novel to calm himself. Create a Doc-inspired playlist of relaxing songs that you would listen to after a long day working in the ER.